


The Dragonborn Takes a Long Time to Get Where She's Going (But She Gets There in the End)

by serenbach



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-08-10 00:38:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7823440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenbach/pseuds/serenbach
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jenassa is hired by the Dragonborn, she expects a lot more epic battles and a lot less aimless wandering around and carrying things. </p><p>Oddly, the wandering around and carrying things seems to grow on her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dragonborn Takes a Long Time to Get Where She's Going (But She Gets There in the End)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Allekha](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allekha/gifts).



Jenassa had noticed her long before she came into _The Drunken Huntsman_ looking for lockpicks and leaving with a follower. Whiterun was a small city, and Altmer were not a common sight, but it was more than just the fact that she was head-and-shoulders taller than most of the Nords, more than her golden skin and eyes, and more than the robes that marked her as an oddity among the superstitious people of Skyrim that made Jenassa listen to the stories about her.

There were so many intriguing tales about this High Elf.  Jenassa had heard that she was a traveller, journeying through Skyrim alone. She had also been welcomed among the Companions, or so they said, and that she was the one who had caused the Gildergreen to bloom again. There had even been rumours of her being _Dragonborn,_ spread around by some overly excited guards after they witnessed her battle a dragon.

It was definitely enough for Jenassa to sit forward and pay attention when she entered _The Drunken Huntsman_ for the first time. She tried to overhear her conversation with Elrindir, but he seemed only to be regaling her with the old tale of how his brother once mistakenly shot him in the arse.

She laughed once, politely, and turned away, stashing the picks somewhere in her robes. As she did so, she looked up and saw Jenassa, sat in her usual corner. Even years later, Jenassa didn’t know why the Dragonborn came over to her.

Whiterun was a small town, Jenassa was a wanderer at heart, and this Altmer promised adventure with every aspect of her being, and so she made an offer to accompany her, desperately hoping she would say yes.

The Altmer nodded absently, and handed her a pouch of money without counting it. Her only comment on the skills that Jenassa offered was; “sounds good. I need some help carrying things.”

Jenassa rolled her eyes a little as she pocketed the cash. Typical Altmer arrogance. But even if it wasn’t the most promising start, at least they were on their way. She’d hired out her skills to much worse people, after all, and she was desperate to see more than just the walls of Whiterun again.     

\---

It turned out that journeying with the Dragonborn was not as exciting as Jenassa may have assumed. Rather than fighting bandits or plundering ruins they spent the first three days together gathering plants and pulling the wings off insects.

“What do you need all these for?” Jenassa asked, after she had filled up all her own pouches and started putting the leaves in Jenassa’s bag. It was the first words they had exchanged in several hours. The Dragonborn was not chatty, it turned out.

She blinked at Jenassa, as if she were surprised at the question. “I’m studying alchemy,” she replied briefly, and that was that.

The quiet or the unfriendliness didn’t bother Jenassa, though. She was not the most talkative of people herself, and travelling with company, even silent company, was better than travelling alone.  

“Where are we actually going?” Jenassa asked on their fourth day of travelling together. They had already explored so many different caves that they were all starting to look the same.   

“Ivarstead,” she replied absently, rummaging through the chest of possesions that had belonged to the unfortunate person who had been living in that cave before the giant spiders moved in.

“We should have arrived by now,” Jenassa protested, thinking of all of the detours they had already taken.

“Are you in a hurry?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, even though the rest of her face stayed impassive.

“Not at all,” Jenassa replied, although she was a bit bemused by the delay, reaching out to take the pile of soul gems and tangled jewellery that she held out for her without even looking. Her pack was already heavy.

\---

They had been walking for several days before they stumbled into a bandit camp at twilight, and were forced into a fight. And not to put too fine a point on it, their first real fight – against opponents who were warriors, not wildlife – was a disaster.  

Jenassa’s first instinct in battle was to slip in close with her two blades, killing up close and efficiently. But this impeded the Dragonborn, who was used to fighting at a distance, throwing fire and lightning and all manner of other spells.

“Watch it!” Jenassa snapped as a lightning bolt hit her right in the middle of her back and made her hair stand on end.

“Sorry!” she shouted back as fire spell drifted perilously close her face.

After the battle – which despite all the difficulties, they of course still won – she frowned thoughtfully.

“This clearly isn’t working,” she said aloud, but her voice was speculative, not annoyed, and Jenassa was still surprised at the amount of relief she felt by that. She’d left other employers for lesser reasons and not counted it a loss.

She picked up a sword, weighed the heft of it in her hand. “Are you any good with a bow?” she asked speculatively.

“I am,” Jenassa replied simply, and she took her at her word, which pleased Jenassa.

“Next time, you shoot, I stab,” she suggested, “and I’ll use my magic at closer range.”

And it worked. Their next battle – against a dragon, and fortunately it turned out that the rumours about her being Dragonborn were completely true – was _glorious_ , and when it was done they exchanged a wild smile and Jenassa was filled with a fierce sort of joy that only came from fighting alongside someone who moved so easily and gracefully alongside you that it was like dancing.

She pushed her hair out of her face, sweaty and out of breath and Jenassa thought for the first time that she was beautiful.

She dismissed the thought as quickly as it arrived.   

 

\---

As the weeks and months of their journey wore on, Jenassa became used to her companion. Became used to her quietness, and learned that what she had first assumed was arrogance was in fact preoccupation with whatever project or problem was on her mind (though there were times when she was outright rude, no other words for it), and the fact that she was incapable of walking in a straight line between two different points on a map.

Jenassa found she didn’t mind it. She was not the most cheerful of people herself, especially when she was injured, or weighed down by the dragon bones and skin in her heavy pack, and it was refreshing to not to have to listen to endless chatter all the time.

But she was utterly sincere when she did listen, to either Jenassa’s own tales of her wandering days, or to the many (many) people who asked for herself in a dozen trivial (and, admittedly, some not so trivial) matters.

She was utterly shameless too. Jenassa was surprised (and not unpleasantly so) to note that all manner of small and valuable things tended to vanish into the pouches of her robes – and frequently, into Jenassa’s own pack, and had often stayed on guard outside buildings while she slipped on her thieves’ guild armour and set to work.

She enjoyed the little smirk that she would send her way when it happened.

Jenassa was still frequently exasperated by her, though, no matter how long they travelled together.

“The Jarl is paying you five hundred septims to climb all the way up this mountain to kill a dragon,” Jenassa began as they trudged through the snow.

“What of it?” she asked distractedly, bending down to examine some greenery that was poking up through the snow.

“Well, so far, on the new armour for me, the new robes for you, the new sword, the new bow, all the potions, and the inn we stayed in the last few nights, it has cost us _eight_ hundred septims to actually kill this dragon.”

She smiled, and Jenassa found her breath catching, the way it did when she saw something rare and beautiful, something that took her by surprise even after so many years of wandering. “Maybe you should be in charge of negotiations from now on,” she said, and Jenassa agreed, distracted herself from her strange thoughts.

Another time, they had been surprised on the road by an assassin. She’d been bent down, harvesting nirnroot when the assassin burst out from the treeline and headed straight for her unprotected back.

Unprotected, but not unguarded. Jenassa killed him with two shots to the chest before she had even straightened up and drawn her blade.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely, her eyes still wide with shock.

“I am the shadow at your back,” Jenassa said with a little bow, which made her smile, and Jenassa knew then that she would gladly watch her back forever.

But after months of travelling together, and nowhere near long for Jenassa’s liking, they wandered back to Whiterun.

“I think we should part ways here,” the Dragonborn said, her face twisting with reluctance and Jenassa felt –

“We’re of the same kind, you and I,” Jenassa said slowly. She had said goodbye so many times before, to so many different people. Why did this feel different? “I’m glad to have met you. It is a lonely thing, facing all the dangers of Skyrim by yourself. Come find me if you deside that you miss my… companionship.”

“I will,” she murmured softly, like a promise. “Goodbye Jenassa,” she said, reaching out and touching her arm, a lingering touch, almost a caress. “Thank you.”

She went into her home, across the path from _The Drunken Huntsman_ and closed the door. Jenassa headed into the inn, Elrindir nodding greetings as she headed to her usual spot. She was wearing better armour than she’d had in years, she was wearing a small fortune in jewellery and had numerous valuables stashed in her pack since after making her carry them all that way she had forgotten to reclaim them.

And she felt oddly bereft in a way she had not done in years, like she had missed out on a chance for… something.

\---               

Jenassa saw her trudge through town to the house opposite a few times, occasionally with a small Imperial child or a dark-haired Nord woman trying to keep up with her long stride. She tried to put it out of her mind, but she found herself dwelling on it, much to her displeasure.

It was some weeks later when she turned up at the _Huntsman_ with a wide smile on her face and an invitation to join her in her travels again. Jenassa was so glad to see her that she forgot to charge her for her services again.

They fell back into the same, comfortable patterns as they had previously, but there was something else, some sort of underlying tension between them that hadn’t been there before.

“That child who lives with you…” Jenassa started as they were forced to make camp one evening, due to a sudden snowstorm. It was more personal than she had ever asked before, but something about the situation made it easy and comfortable to ask.

“My daughter,” she replied, her eyes gleaming in the firelight. “I adopted her.”

“And the Nord woman?” Jenassa asked, clearing her throat uncomfortably. It was the one that she was the most curious about, and the one that was hardest to ask.

She smiled, softer than usual. “My housecarl. And my friend.” She hesitated, before adding, “Nothing more.”

The glance she gave Jenassa filled her with hope she couldn’t quite define.

 

\---      

Things would have probably carried on the way they always had between them, if they hadn’t decided to explore an old Nord tomb known as Rannveig’s Fast.

“Few would dare to trespass in these ruins,” Jenassa commented as they entered. “What you lack in wisdom you make up in courage.”

Her laughter echoed throughout the chamber. “You can’t be that wise yourself if you’re following me.”

Jenassa opened her mouth to reply, and at that moment, they both fell through a trapdoor and into a semi-submerged cage with a mad necromancer on the other side.

Jenassa tried to pick the lock – she was definitely the best of the two of them – when the necromancer distracted her by trying out his new spell on her.

Jenassa cried out in pain, once, and the necromancer fell down dead. She had fired lightning at him through the bars, her expression frantic.

“Are you well?” she asked, patting Jenassa’s arms gently as she cast a healing spell.

“I’m fine,” Jenassa snapped, flustered at her friend's obvious fear for her and concern for her, and annoyed at being caught off guard in the first place.

She nodded, and reached through the bars to get the key from around the dead necromancer’s neck, and Jenassa was already regretting her harsh words, although she didn’t seem to hold it against her.     

When they finally stumbled out of the ruins, through an old sewer, which wasn’t pleasant, they headed by mutual agreement to the nearest body of water, where the Dragonborn waded in, still in her robes.

Jenassa paused on the bank long enough to strip off her armour, which meant she had a perfect view when she finally pulled her soaked robes over her head, leaving her in just her underwear, revealing miles of golden skin, criss-crossed with scars, and between her breasts…

“An Amulet of Mara? You’re looking for marriage, then?” Jenassa blurted, genuinely surprised, and filled with a sudden, wild excitement.

“Ah,” she actually blushed, much to Jenassa’s surprise. “I actually only wear it for the restoration magic boost.”

“I see,” Jenassa replied, feeling unbearably exposed.

But she smiled at her, bright and true. “Though I wouldn’t be opposed to marriage. If the right person asked.”

Jenassa waded into the river, still in most of her own armour, and reached up to kiss her, finally, the way she had wanted to since what felt like forever.

It felt like it had taken them such a long time to get to this point, but Jenassa wouldn't have it any other way. 

\---

The next time they set off on their travels, they left from the same house. They helped each other with their war paint, said farewell to their children, and swung their gear over their shoulders.

“Don’t forget your pack,” she said absently, patting herself down, looking for something that she had already misplaced.

“As if I ever do,” Jenassa replied, rolling her eyes even as she pulled her down for a kiss.  

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for the prompt, I really enjoyed it!


End file.
